Diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis in Adults: Role of a Simple Clinical Diagnostic Triad

Abstract

Objectives: Acute appendicitis remains the commonest intra-abdominal surgical emergency. This study sought to identify the clinical factors that are most reliable in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. Methods: This was a retrospective review of consecutive adult appendicectomies over a 6 months period. The frequency of different clinical parameters was assessed to determine the most reliable predictors of acute appendicitis. A simple triad of 3 of the most frequent clinical parameters was examined for diagnostic potential by calculating its sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value. Results: There were a total of 124 patients. The median age was 33 years while the gender distribution was 54 males to 70 females. The most common clinical parameters in the patients with appendicitis were right iliac fossa tenderness or peritonism (100.0%), anorexia (78.8%), nausea (75.9%), migratory abdominal pain i.e . pain migrating to right lower quadrant (55.7%), tachycardia (41.3%) and pyrexia i.e . body temperature of 37.8 degrees Celsius and above (22.1%). The simple triad of anorexia, right iliac fossa tenderness and migratory abdominal pain showed specificity for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis of 84.2% and sensitivity of 45.7%. The positive predictive value of this triad was 94.1% while the negative predictive value was 21.9%. Conclusion: Our study reveals that the positivity for this simple clinical triad strongly rules in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. Its specificity and positive predictive value compares with the most reliable scoring systems for acute appendicitis in literature. Further approaches to diagnosis such as imaging and diagnostic laparoscopy should be considered when this triad is negative and appendicitis is suspected. This simple diagnostic approach allows for prompt diagnosis and treatment which expectedly would improve the morbidity associated with acute appendicitis.